Wisconsin Capital Improvements to be Funded by $287 Million GO Bond Issue

Featured Municipal Bond Issue, Week of February 26, 2018: State of Wisconsin Capital Improvements – General Obligation Bonds – $287 Million

The State of Wisconsin is issuing $287 million in general obligation bonds the week of February 26, 2018. The bonds are being issued as a single series, Series A, and are direct and general obligations of the State. The Wisconsin Constitution pledges the full faith, credit, and taxing power of the State to make principal and interest payments. Interest on the bonds is excluded from gross income for federal income tax purposes.

Bond proceeds will be placed into the State’s Capital Improvement Fund for various purposes. The State provides good transparency through an itemized list in its ‘General Obligation Issuance Status Report’, including spending for this issuance. This report is attached to the preliminary official statement as Appendix B. According to this report, Series A bond proceed spending will include, but are not limited to:

• University of Wisconsin Academic Facilities – $68.4 Million
• Safe Drinking Water Loan Program – $4.8 Million
• Warren Knowles – Gaylord Nelson stewardship 2000 program – $23.5 Million
• Correctional Facilities – $13.0 Million
• Eau Claire Confluence Arts, Inc. – $5.9 Million

Details on the purposes, tax-status, security, as well as other matters pertaining to these Wisconsin capital improvement general obligation bonds can be found in the preliminary official statement, are available on MSRB’s EMMA website.

As of December 2017, the State of Wisconsin has an unemployment rate of 2.7%, which is 1.4% lower than the national rate for December, and 1.0% lower than at the same time in 2016. MuniNet provides this data and more, easily accessible, for all 50 states and each Metropolitan Statistical Area in the country, in our Employment Database.

by Jeffrey L Garceau